The use of disposable gloves by dentists (including all persons whose profession is the care of teeth, such as doctors of dental surgery, dental hygienists, and dental assistants) is desirable both from the standpoint of the dentist and from the standpoint of the patient. For the patient, the use of gloves which are discarded after each use by a dentist insures against salivary and hematological transmission of infection or disease from a prior patient by way of the dentist's hands. For the dentist, the use of gloves avoids the danger of transmission of infection or disease from a patient to the dentist himself such as through a tiny cut or abrasion on the skin of the dentist's hands.
The present invention encourages the use of dental gloves by providing a dental glove which is pleasant tasting to the patient and by providing an extremely inexpensive yet highly reliable and effective method of manufacturing the dental glove. According to the principles of the invention, a mold for the dental glove is covered with a liquid uncured latex material, and the latex material is at least partially cured to form a glove body. The glove body is removed from the mold and is covered with a liquid slurry containing a dusting powder and an adhesive agent and a flavor agent or ingredient. This wets both the inside and the outside of the glove body with the slurry. The wetted glove body is then tumble dried at an elevated temperature to simultaneously further cure the latex and dry the water from the slurry to produce the finished dental glove.
The dental glove which is manufactured by this method is substantially fully covered on both the interior and exterior surfaces of the glove body with a single coating of substantially uniform composition and thickness. On the interior surface of the dental glove, the dusting powder of the coating facilitates inserting a dentist's hand into the dental glove, and the flavor agent of the coating does not adversely affect the lubricity of the dusting powder. On the exterior surface of the dental glove, the flavor agent of the coating provides a pleasant taste in the mouth of a dental patient, and the dusting powder does not adversely affect the taste of the flavor agent. In this manner, the single coating provides one function on the interior surface of the dental glove and provides a completely different and unrelated second function on the exterior surface of the dental glove.
Prior art surgical gloves are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,621,333 and 3,728,739.